Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) said its first-pass drill coverage expanded to cover an area measuring 1,000 meters by 550 meters at the La Verde copper-gold porphyry discovery near its Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile, according to a Thursday Australian bourse filing.
A total of 27 RC drill holes at the discovery have been completed to date, for a total depth of 8,162 meters.
It is planning an initial phase of diamond drilling to test below broad, higher-grade, copper-gold zones intersected earlier.
The firm also flagged delays in turn-around time for drill assay results from regional laboratories due to "peak summer drilling season."
It added that the pre-feasibility studies for the Costa Fuego project and the Huasco Water project were in the final stages of completion, per the filing.